MP3 Player Shield Hookup a learn.sparkfun.comtutorial

Available online at: http://sfe.io/t131

Contents

IntroductionHardware OverviewAssembly & PreparationUsing the SFEMP3Shield LibraryExample Sketch: MP3 TriggerResources and Going Further

Introduction

This is an outdated version of this tutorial kept around for reference. For the most recent version,V15, please click here.

Are you looking to add some grooves to your project. Does your haunted house or Halloweencostume need some sound effects embedded into it? Do you just want to be able to say you builtyour own MP3 player? The MP3 Player Shield is an easy way to add music or sound effects to yourproject.

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In this tutorial we’ll examine all of the ins and outs of the MP3 Player Shield. Then we’ll go on tointroduce some example code. Hopefully, after reading through this tutorial, you’ll be inspired tomake the next, great MP3 Shield Music Box or another rockin', music-playing Arduino project.

Requirements

To follow along with this tutorial you’ll need the following items:

An MP3 Player Shield, of course. The star of the show.µSD Card and a computer with a means to get music files onto it.An Arduino Uno, RedBoard, Arduino Pro or any other Arduino-compatible board.Headphones with a 3.5mm jack termination or an active speaker.Some MP3 files to groove to.

Suggested Reading

Before launching into this tutorial, there are a few basic concepts you should be familiar with. If thesubject of these tutorials sounds foreign to you, read about it before continuing on with this hookupguide.

What is an Arduino?Arduino ShieldsHow to Install an Arduino LibrarySerial Peripheral Communication (SPI)

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Hardware Overview

The centerpiece of the MP3 Player Shield is a VS1053B Audio Codec IC. The VS1053B is amultitalented little chip. On top of MP3’s, it can also decode Ogg Vorbis, AAC, WMA, and MIDI. (It’salso capable of encoding audio, although that’s outside the scope of the MP3 Shield.)

Supporting the VS1053 is a µSD card socket, which you can use to store MP3 files on. Using theArduino SD library, it’s simple to read music files off an SD card, and stream them to the VS1053B.There’s additional circuitry on-board to level shift signals down to the 3.3V maximum allowable bySD cards.

Here’s a quick visual overview of the important connectors and other components on the MP3Player Shield:

In the image above, the blue labels are pins used by the VS1053 MP3 Codec IC, the red labels areused for communication with the µSD card, and the purple-labeled pins are used by bothcomponents (yay SPI!).

Which Pins are Being Used?

The MP3 Player Shield requires exclusive use of a handful of pins. These pins can’t be used tointerface with other devices:

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D2 is connected to the data request output of the VS1053B. This pin is an interrupt, whichtells the Arduino that the IC needs more music data.D6 is connected to the chip select input of the VS1053B. This active-low pin tells the chipwhen data is being sent to it.D7 is connected to the data chip select input of the VS1053B, which tells the chip whenmusic data is being sent.D8 is connected to the reset input of the VS1053B.D9 is connected to the chip select input of the µSD card.

The Arduino’s three SPI data and clock pins – D11, D12, and D13 – can be used to interface toother SPI components. They can’t, however, be used for any purpose other than SPI.

Which Pins are Free?

Whew! The shield does use up quite a few pins, but here are the pins still available to connect toother components.

The hardware UART pins – RX and TX – on pins 0 and 1D5 and D10 (PWM pins!)All analog pins (A0 through A5).

Optional Pin Jumpers

Two pins we haven’t mentioned yet are D3 and D4, which are connected to the VS1053B’s MIDI-Inand GPIO1 pins respectively. Use of these pins is optional. They’re not required for most MP3-playing functions, including the examples we’ll show in this tutorial.

To disable either of those pins, a jumper next to their label can be cut using a hobby knife.

Getting Audio Out

There are two options for driving audio out of the MP3 Player Shield. The easiest, most plug-and-play option is to stick some headphones into the on-board 3.5mm stereo audio jack. Active(powered) speakers could also be plugged into this jack, but the VS1053B alone doesn’t have

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enough power on its own to drive low-impedance, passive speakers.

The right and left channels, as well as the audio ground are also broken out to a 0.1" header nextto the headphone jack. You can use these pins to connect up to a speaker or amplifier input.

Line Out Warning

If you’re going to connect the speaker output to power amplifiers or circuits, make sure you readthrough VLSI’s Connecting analog outputs application note.

The pin labeled ‘-’ next to ‘R’ and ‘L’ is connected to the ‘GBUF’ pin on the VS1053B. This pin isn’tground, and shouldn’t be connected to ground! It’s biased internally in the VS1053B to 1.25V. IfGBUF is connected to a line-in input on a PC, for example, it could be connected on the PC side toground and form a ground loop.

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A dangerous (to the VS1053B) current loop can be created if GBUF is connected to an amplifiersground. (From the VS10XX Analog Output App Note.)

Don’t do that! The VLSI app note has some recommended circuits (see sections 3.1 and 3.2) tohelp avoid this kind of problem.

Assembly & Preparation

Before we get to uploading code and streaming some tunes, there are some a few preparationsteps to take care of first. You’ll need to solder something to the shield, and prepare a µSD card.

Adding Headers

To get started with the shield, you’ll need to solder on some headers. If you’re looking to keep theshields stackable, stackable headers might be the best option. Otherwise, straight male headerswork as well.

An MP3 Player Shield with stackable headers soldered on.

Check out our shield assembly guide for more help in adding headers to your shield.

MP3 File and µSD Card Setup

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In this phase of the hookup, you may also want to start preparing your µSD card. First, make sureit’s formatted correctly. The SDFat Arduino library we’ll be using only supports cards formatted forFAT16 or FAT32. Your card is probably already formatted to one of these standards, but it doesn’thurt to double check.

You may also want to prepare your music files. The VS1053B is capable of playing MP3, AAC,WMA, MIDI, and Ogg Vorbis audio files. The VS1053B supports a variety of samplerates andbitrates for each file type. Check out the datasheet (beginning in section 8 – page 26), to make sureyour audio files are supported. MP3’s, for example, are supported at up to a 320 kbps bitrate and a48 kHz samplerate.

Finally, before loading the audio files onto your SD card, you’ll need to modify their names. TheSDFat library only supports “8.3” file names – that’s eight characters before the ‘.’ and threecharacters after (e.g. “track001.mp3”). Further, some of the example code we’ll be using later onrequires that the audio files be named using special conventions. In the MP3 trigger example thefiles will need to be named “track001.mp3”, “track002.mp3”, etc.

Using the SFEMP3Shield Library

The SFEMP3Shield Arduino library – written collaboratively by Bill Porter, Michael Flaga, ddz, andWade Brainerd – is an AMAZING resource for the MP3 Player Shield. Combined with the equally

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awesome SdFat library, SFEMP3Shield greatly simplifies the task of interfacing with the VS1053and using the MP3 Player Shield.

We recommend using the SFEMP3Shield library with this shield. On this page we’ll go over how toinstall and use the library. On the next page, we’ll make a fun example sketch using it.

Install the SFEMP3Shield Library

To download the latest version of the SFEMP3Shield, click the “Download ZIP” link on the library’sGitHub page. You should also be able to grab it directly from here.

This GitHub repo already includes a copy of the SdFat library, so you’re covered there.

The “Sparkfun-MP3-Player-Shield-Arduino-Library-master” folder you extract should have a handfulof folders within. The “SFEMP3Shield” and “SdFat” folders in particular need to be installed asArduino libraries. For help installing the library, check out our Installing an Arduino Library tutorial.You’ll need to place those two folders within your Arduino sketchbook (by default in yourhome/Arduino folder). Your file structure should look something like this once installed:

Now restart Arduino (if it was open), and check under the “Sketch” > “Import Library” menu to makesure “SFEMP3Library” and “SdFat” are both listed there.

Upload an Example Sketch

The SFEMP3Shield library includes a few fun example sketches that show off all of its awesomeabilities. To begin, try loading up the “FilePlayer” example, by going to “File” > “Examples” >“SFEMP3Shield” > “Examples” > “FilePlayer”.

Make sure the MP3 Player Shield is sitting comfortably on top of your Arduino, and upload away!

Once uploaded, open up the Serial Monitor and set the baud rate to 115200 bps. Once the sketchinitializes, it should present you with a navigable menu:

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Hopefully, towards the bottom of the menu, you’ll see a list of MP3 files that the sketch found onyour SD card. Try sending a 3-digit number with padding zeros (e.g. 001, 003, etc.) to make one ofthe listed files start playing. Are you grooving now?

If it’s too quiet, try turning up the volume using the ‘+’ command, or go down with ‘-’. There are allsorts of other fun options to try out too.

Helpful SFEMP3Shield Library Documents

If you’re looking for help using the SFEMP3Shield, begin by checking out the main page of theirsupport site. There’s some good troubleshooting information there.

To dig into the code, you can check out their GitHub repository. There’s also a helpfulSFEMP3Shield Class Reference guide, which lists all of the functions made available by the library.

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On the next page, we’ll make an example sketch using the MP3ShieldLibrary to show off some ofits more fundamental functions.

Example Sketch: MP3 Trigger

Whether it’s red or purple, everyone loves a good MP3 trigger. Where a simple button or switch isall it takes to trigger a song or sound effect. Let’s use the MP3 Player Shield library to make an MP3trigger that can rival the big boys.

This is a simple example, which shows how to play and stop tracks using the SFEMP3Shieldlibrary. Up to nine tracks can be triggered by the shield, using pins 0, 1, 5, 10, and A0-A4. A5 canbe used to stop a currently playing track.

Step 1: Set up the SD Card

You’ll need to rename your MP3 files before plugging the µSD card into your shield. Each of thenine tracks needs to be specifically named from “track001.mp3” to “track009.mp3”.

The first trigger – D0 – will play an MP3 named “track001.mp3”, the second trigger – D1 – will play“track002.mp3”, and so on up to A4 which will play “track009.mp3”.

Step 2: Set up the Hardware

Of course, the shield does most of the hardware set up for you. Aside from sticking the shield onyour Arduino, you’ll need to find something to trigger the pins. You could use a switch, of whichthere are tons of options, or you could just us a simple jumper wire to ground one of the trigger pins.

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You can either plug headphones into the on-board jack to listen, or, if you want to get fancy with it,use the three broken out “Speaker” pins. Here’s our setup with a combination of MonoAmpBreakout and 8 Ω Speaker:

Step 3: Load Up the Code

Here’s our MP3 Shield trigger sketch. Copy/paste from below, or download it here:

language:c/* MP3 Shield Trigger by: Jim Lindblom SparkFun Electronics date: September 23, 2013

This is an example MP3 trigger sketch for the SparkFun MP3 Shield. Pins 0, 1, 5, 10, A0, A1, A2, A3, and A4 are setup to trigger tracks "track001.mp3", "track002.mp3", etc. on an SD card loaded into the shield. Whenever any of those pins are shorted to ground, their respective track will start playing.

When a new pin is triggered, any track currently playing will stop, and the new one will start.

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A5 is setup to globally STOP playing a track when triggered.

If you need more triggers, the shield's jumpers on pins 3 and 4 (MIDI-IN and GPIO1) can be cut open and used as additional trigger pins. Also, because pins 0 and 1 are used as triggers Serial is not available for debugging. Disable those as triggers if you want to use serial.

Much of this code was grabbed from the FilePlayer example included with the SFEMP3Shield library. Major thanks to Bill Porter and Michael Flaga, again, for this amazing library!*/

#include <SPI.h> // SPI library#include <SdFat.h> // SDFat Library#include <SdFatUtil.h> // SDFat Util Library#include <SFEMP3Shield.h> // Mp3 Shield Library

SdFat sd; // Create object to handle SD functions

SFEMP3Shield MP3player; // Create Mp3 library object// These variables are used in the MP3 initialization to set up// some stereo options:const uint8_t volume = 0; // MP3 Player volume 0=max, 255=lowest (off)const uint16_t monoMode = 1; // Mono setting 0=off, 3=max

/* Pin setup */#define TRIGGER_COUNT 9int triggerPins[TRIGGER_COUNT] = {0, 1, 5, 10, A0, A1, A2, A3, A4};int stopPin = A5; // This pin triggers a track stop.int lastTrigger = 0; // This variable keeps track of which tune is playing

void setup(){ /* Set up all trigger pins as inputs, with pull-ups activated: */ for (int i=0; i<TRIGGER_COUNT; i++) { pinMode(triggerPins[i], INPUT_PULLUP); } pinMode(stopPin, INPUT_PULLUP);

initSD(); // Initialize the SD card initMP3Player(); // Initialize the MP3 Shield}

// All the loop does is continuously step through the trigger// pins to see if one is pulled low. If it is, it'll stop any// currently playing track, and start playing a new one.void loop(){ for (int i=0; i<TRIGGER_COUNT; i++) { if ((digitalRead(triggerPins[i]) == LOW) && ((i+1) != lastTrigger)) { lastTrigger = i+1; // Update lastTrigger variable to current trigger /* If another track is playing, stop it: */

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if (MP3player.isPlaying()) MP3player.stopTrack();

/* Use the playTrack function to play a numbered track: */ uint8_t result = MP3player.playTrack(lastTrigger); // An alternative here would be to use the // playMP3(fileName) function, as long as you mapped // the file names to trigger pins.

if (result == 0) // playTrack() returns 0 on success { // Success } else // Otherwise there's an error, check the code { // Print error code somehow, someway } } } // After looping through and checking trigger pins, check to // see if the stopPin (A5) is triggered. if (digitalRead(stopPin) == LOW) { lastTrigger = 0; // Reset lastTrigger // If another track is playing, stop it. if (MP3player.isPlaying()) MP3player.stopTrack(); }}

// initSD() initializes the SD card and checks for an error.void initSD(){ //Initialize the SdCard. if(!sd.begin(SD_SEL, SPI_HALF_SPEED)) sd.initErrorHalt(); if(!sd.chdir("/")) sd.errorHalt("sd.chdir");}

// initMP3Player() sets up all of the initialization for the// MP3 Player Shield. It runs the begin() function, checks// for errors, applies a patch if found, and sets the volume/// stero mode.void initMP3Player(){ uint8_t result = MP3player.begin(); // init the mp3 player shield if(result != 0) // check result, see readme for error codes. { // Error checking can go here! } MP3player.setVolume(volume, volume); MP3player.setMonoMode(monoMode);}

Check the comments in the code for a step-by-step walkthrough. This example shows just howPage 13 of 14

easy it is to use the MP3 Player Shield (with a lot of thanks to Bill Porter and Michael Flaga for theirlibrary). Call up the MP3player.playTrack() function to start a song, and use MP3player.stopTrack() call tostop it.

Step 4: Trigger Some Tunes

With the sketch loaded up, all you have to do is ground one of the trigger pins (0, 1, 5, 10, A0, A1,A2, A3, A4). When a new trigger pin is grounded, any currently playing song will stop and the MP3file it relates to will start playing. If you want to stop a track, briefly connect A5 to ground.

You can connect any of these trigger pins up to all kinds of buttons or switches, or just use a strandof wire to momentarily short them to ground.

Resources and Going Further

The tutorial’s over, but there are still plenty of resources to help you get the most out of your MP3Player Shield:

MP3 Player Shield SchematicMP3 Player Shield EAGLE Files (PCB design files)VS1053B DatasheetVLSI VS1053B Product PageSFEMP3Shield Library GitHub RepositorySFEMP3Shield Library Support Page

Going Further

Your MP3 Player Shield is all hooked up! What project are you going to stick it into? If you’relooking for some inspiration, check out some of these tutorials:

Getting Started with the LilyPad MP3 Player – The LilyPad MP3 Player is a uniquecombination of LilyPad, Arduino, and the MP3 Player Shield. You can use it to create all kindsof noisy projects, from MP3 hoodies to talking teddy bears.My Drunk Kitchen Apron – A fun “talking” apron that uses the LilyPad MP3 trigger.MP3 Player Shield Music Box – Have you ever wanted to create a Doctor Who themed musicbox? This tutorial will show you how!RN-52 Bluetooth Hookup Guide – Switching gears here a bit…if you want to free your musicfrom those constricting cables, check out the RN-52 bluetooth audio module.

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